REPORT No. 36/13 PETITION 403-02 ADMISSIBILITY JOSÉ DELFÍN ACOSTA MARTÍNEZ AND FAMILY ARGENTINA July 11, 2013 I. SUMMARY 1. On June 6, 2002, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Commission” or “the IACHR”) received a petition lodged by the Comisión de Familiares de Víctimas Indefensas de la Violencia Social [Committee of Relatives of Defenseless Victims of Social Violence] (COFAVI),1 Centro de Investigaciones Sociales y Asesorías Legales Populares [Social Research Center and People’s Legal Advisory Services] (CISALP), and Paola Gabriela Canova (hereinafter the “petitioners”), in which they argue that the Republic of Argentina (“Argentina” or the “State”) is responsible for the injuries allegedly inflicted on Mr. José Delfín Acosta Martínez (the “presumed victim”) purportedly by police agents while he was in their custody, which resulted in his death, and for the absence of an effective investigation leading to the prosecution and punishment of the persons responsible for the events. The petitioners claim that the State is responsible for violating the rights set forth in Articles 4 (right to life), 5 (right to humane treatment), 7 (right to personal liberty), 8 (right to a fair trial), 24 (equal protection), and 25 (judicial protection) in conjunction with the obligation to respect and guarantee the rights embodied in Article 1.1. of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter the "American Convention"). 2. With regard to the fulfillment of the admissibility requirements, the petitioners claimed that they have exhausted domestic remedies and that they lodged the petition pursuant to Article 46 of the American Convention. For its part, the State argued that the petition is inadmissible because it does not state facts that would constitute a violation of a right guaranteed under the American Convention and that the “fourth-instance” formula is applicable. 3. After reviewing the positions of the parties and in keeping with the requirements established in Articles 46 and 47 of the American Convention, the Commission decides to declare the case admissible for the purpose of examining the alleged violation of the rights of the presumed victim and his relatives embodied in Articles 4, 5, 7, 8, 24, and 25, in conjunction with Article 1.1 and 2 of that instrument. In addition, the Commission decides to inform the parties of this decision, to publish it, and to include it in its Annual Report to the General Assembly of the OAS. II. PROCESSING BY THE COMMISSION 4. The petition was received by the IACHR on June 6, 2002, and recorded as No. P-403-02. The IACHR transmitted it to the State on April 8, 2004, giving the State two months to submit a reply. The State asked the IACHR for a one-month extension for its reply, which was granted on June 8, 2004. The Commission received the State’s reply on April 29, 2005, which was duly transmitted the petitioners. 1 On May 9, 2006, Mr. Ángel Acosta Martínez, brother of the presumed victim, reported that COFAVI would no longer be sponsoring the petition and that the attorney Paola Gabriela Canova should be included as a petitioner.